Battery charger recommendation???

[scook]

cfelton, where did you get a marine alternator for $60? I'm seeing kits for $250 - $600.

Spare, thanks for the manual - I'll dig into it and see what I can find.

Had to laugh reading the shop battery charger comments - we could start a historic charger website. I've had a smart charger for a few years that charges at 2, 6 or 12 amps and automatically slows down and stops and an old one that was my dad's (he'd be 104 if he were still among us). I think it's Shauer brand - no meter or anything - if it's humming, it's working, if you forget it and leave it on, you buy a new battery.

Destroyer, these are Optima batteries (the kind that don't have liquid acid). They can't be checked with a hydrometer (www.optimabatteries.com). Looking for an onboard charger so I can just plug the boat in when it's sitting (which is a lot), charge the batteries up if needed and maintain them, I heard that charging at higher amperage shortens the battery life. It's a mystery to me but I want to make the right choice when I replace the Guest 10 amp onboard charger that's no longer working on the boat - the technology is definitely above my pay grade. Reading on their website, I don't see the charging amperage being a problem, but I value the wisdom and experience here so I'm picking our collective brain.

[cfelton]

Hey Scook, look on Amazon. I just saw a 110 amp, one wire Delco alternator for 65.67 from Rareelectrical. I used a long bolt that went right over the front motor mount into an existing hole in the head and you can make a top bracket for the top mount hole. Look at my gallery pics, maybe you can see it. If you need any measurements let me know, Ill be home for a few more days, be glad to help you.

[spareparts]

Originally Posted by cfelton

Hey Scook, look on Amazon. I just saw a 110 amp, one wire Delco alternator for 65.67 from Rareelectrical. I used a long bolt that went right over the front motor mount into an existing hole in the head and you can make a top bracket for the top mount hole. Look at my gallery pics, maybe you can see it. If you need any measurements let me know, Ill be home for a few more days, be glad to help you.

power steering pump may get in your way.Keep in mind 1 wire alternators don't charge till you get them over about 1500 rpm, if you do a lot of trolling/low speed idling, you may have issues

[steplift20]

It is a Schumacher. That's funny. Still works. H

[cfelton]

Spare is right, I have to give it a little speed to make it start charging first then it usually works well.

[scook]

It was a happy thought, getting by for less than a hundred bucks plus a little time in the shop, but lots of my time is spent at a slow troll for Salmon, so I'd probably better stay with a conventional setup.

[scook]

Got a Marinco 10 amp onboard charger to charge and maintain the batteries, now I need to take care of the alternator.

The stator is shorted to ground. It tested that way on the engine and tested the same on the bench (.2 ohms either lead to ground). The regulator seemed to test OK with partial diagnosis but the body is cracked and I don't trust it - time for an external alternator.

I don't have time right now for fabricating anything in the shop so will need a kit. The question is whether a one wire type will work for my use.

Earlier in the thread I learned that the one wire doesn't charge until RPM's reach 1500. Does it quit charging when you drop below 1500 without shutting down the engine? I do a lot of slow trolling but always spend several minutes running at around 3000 RPM getting to where we fish and getting back to the ramp.

I need some education and need to get the boat going - the Spring Salmon are starting to run
up the river. I appreciate your help.

Spareparts - if you see this, please check your PM's.